§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria are used by his Department when considering passport applications on behalf of children born in the United Kingdom after 31 December 1982, neither of whose parents are British citizens, in deciding whether either of that child's parents was ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom at the time of the child's birth so as to allow the issue of a passport showing the child to be a British citizen.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe passport offices refer to the stamps entered in a parent's passport by the immigration service or the Home Office, to determine whether the parent had indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom at the time of the child's birth.
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what additional information 528W and documentation is requested from the parents of a child born in the United Kingdom after 31 December 1982 who is applying for a passport other than indicated on the standard passport application form B; and under what circumstances additional information or documentation is required from parents who are not British citizens.
§ Mr. WhitneyIf neither parent's passport establishes ordinary residence in the United Kingdom, the passport offices simply ask whether either parent was, at the time of the child's birth, ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and free of restrictions under the immigration laws. Written statements to this effect are accepted unless they are clearly contradicted by other available evidence. Cases of doubt are referred to the Home Office
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any standard pro forma letters are sent requesting further information and documentation from the parents of a child born in the United Kingdom after 31 December 1982 who is applying for a passport and when the parents themselves are not British citizens.
§ Mr. WhitneyNo standard pro forma letter requesting further information and documentation in such cases is in use in the passport offices. A standard letter is used when it is clear that an application has been made in respect of a child born in the United Kingdom after 31 December 1982 who does not qualify on nationality grounds for a British passport. I shall let the hon. Member have a specimen of this standard letter.
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance or instructions are issued to staff of his Department dealing with passport applications by a child born in the United Kingdom after 31 December 1982 neither of whose parents are British citizens; and if he will provide copies of such guidance or instructions.
§ Mr. WhitneyI am sending the hon. Member a copy of the guidance issued to staff in the passport offices on this point.
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications were received for passports during 1983 on behalf of children born in the United Kingdom during the year to parents who are not British citizens.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe passport offices do not keep statistics which categorise passport holders according to the way in which they acquired British citizenship. Over 2 million passport applications would have to be scrutinised to extract the information requested and the expense involved would not be justified.
§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions further information or documentation other than that already indicated on the standard application form was requested in 1983 from parents of a child born in the United Kingdom after 3l December 1982 who was applying for a British passport and when neither of the parents was a British citizen.
§ Mr. WhitneyOne hundred and eight applications for passports for children born in the United Kingdom after 31 December 1982 were withdrawn during 1983 because the children concerned did not qualify for a British passport 529W on nationality grounds. In most of these cases further information would have been requested. No statistics have been kept of the number of cases in which it was necessary to ask for further information or documentation before a passport was issued.